Mannargudi Choleswarar Shiva Temple, Thiruvarur

Address

Mannargudi Choleswarar Shiva Temple, Mannargudi Thiruvarur District – 614001.

Diety

Choleswarar Amman: Valambika

Introduction

From Mannargudi, Cross the river bridge to Bamani Temple and take the right side road to reach Pattakara Street. There is an ancient Shiva temple facing east and the main gate faces south on the east side. Lord Choleswarar is towards the east and Goddess Valambika is towards the south. The temple is without proper maintenance. Cracks are found in the walls. The path inside the temple is overgrown with thorns. Similarly there are trees around the temple.

Puranic Significance

At the entrance of the sanctum sanctorum, there is a small Ganesha statue with a porch. Durga is the only one in the sanctuary. According to the temples, there are Ganesha and Murugan. The Chitragupta monitors of this temple write down all the things they did in their lives till the moment of their birth and death. Thus the notes he writes are called Akashi notes. Apart from these, the Bhairava, Saturn, and Sun, moons are in the west-facing. “With the kind permission of Sri Kadambur K. Vijayan, these are extracted from his posts”.

Beliefs

It is believed that Chitragupta was the lord of Ketu in the Navagrahas and that if those who were afflicted with Ketu Tosha worshiped him, that Tosham would disappear. Astrologers say that on the day of Chitra Pavurnami, women fast and have unsalted food and if they pray to him, their life span will increase.